Saw a rack of brand new bikes at the shop on 5th with stem bolts torqued way past spec
I stopped by Wheelworks on 5th street last Tuesday to grab a couple of cables and noticed a row of new hybrids sitting out front with the stems clearly not settled right. Out of curiosity I put a torque wrench on one and it clicked past 12 Nm before I backed off, when those bolts should be around 5 to 6. The sales kid told me the builder does them by feel and has for a while, which means every bike off that rack is a stripped thread or a cracked faceplate waiting to happen. If you work at a shop that sells completes, please check your build sheet torque values against the actual wrench. Has anyone else been seeing factory and shop builds coming in this far over spec lately?